Guarantees as an Element of the Legal Status of a Judge

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of guarantees as an element of the legal status of a judge. The article considers the effectiveness of justice by the judiciary as an independent branch of state power, which is entrusted with the function of protecting the rights and legitimate interests of persons in the state. It is argued that the right to judicial protection can be properly realized only if there is an effective mechanism of judicial protection, which becomes real if there are guarantees for the activity of a judge. The independence and independence of the judiciary is due to the constitutional principle of separation of powers, proclaimed in the Constitution of Ukraine. However, it is in democracies that this principle acquires special significance, because we are talking about legally enshrined guarantees and effective mechanisms of «containment and balances» in the organization and activities of various branches of government. Each of the branches of government – legislative, executive and judicial, independently performs only its inherent functions, not obeying each other. Decisions are made by the judiciary due to their independence, because no additional approval by the bodies of other branches of government is required. The most important prerequisite for this is the protection of the judiciary from unlawful influence or interference from other actors. Only an independent judiciary can become the guarantor of the rule of law, the implementation of effective and accessible justice and a fair judicial decision of cases in the state. The guarantees of the judge's activity in the administration of justice are divided into three groups: guarantees of the procedural activity of the judge as the bearer of judicial power, the subject of the process; organizational and legal guarantees for the activity of a judge as a person holding a public office and is a member of the judicial community; social and legal guarantees of a judge as a citizen with a special legal status, limited in civil rights by legislation on the status of judges and occupying a separate position in society.